A power point presentation on Autism Spectrum disorders I created in collaboration with a team of three other graduate students at the University of Dayton.

1. Autism Spectrum
Disorder
Presented by:
Steph Copeland
Jen Hobbs
Rosie Amstutz
Lanre Oriowo

2. Definition of Autism
 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA 300.7
©(1)(i)]
―A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and
non-verbal communication and social interaction, generally
evident before age three that adversely affects a child’s
educational performance.
Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement
in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to
environmental change, a change in daily routines and unusual
responses to sensory experiences.‖
 (i) Autism does not apply if a child's educational performance is
adversely affected primarily because the child has an
emotional disability.
 (ii) A child who manifests the characteristics of autism after age 3 could
be identified as having autism if the other criteria are satisfied.

3. Autism Spectrum
 Multiple levels of Autism, therefore now considered
as a spectrum

4. Similarities within the Spectrum

5. More similarities within the Spectrum
 Marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors
 eye-to- eye gaze,
 facial expression,
 body posture, and gestures to regulate social interaction.
 A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or
achievements with other people,
 e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people).
 A lack of social or emotional reciprocity
 Delay in or total lack of, the development of spoken language
 not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication
such as gesture or mime
 Encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and
restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus.
 Apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or
rituals.
 Repetitive motor mannerisms
 Hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements).

6. Uniqueness within the spectrum
 Asperger’s Syndrome
 Higher IQ
 Reach milestones at the right time
 Do not have communicative impairments
 Rett Syndrome
 Usually only found in girls
 Normal development until 6 – 18 months
 Hypotonia - loss of muscle tone, no eye contact, decelerated head growth
 Rapid developmental regression – hand wringing, unsteady walking, breathing
irregularities, seizures.
 PDD – NOS
 Diagnosed when child displays some autistic behaviors and meets some but not all
criteria for PDDs.
 Example from the book(pg 363) – an individual with severe impairments in social
interactions and communication but no repetitive behavior
 CDD
 Normal development until a certain age (between 2 and 10) and then regress

7. Prevalence
 ASD Prevalence – 1 in 91 children is diagnosed
 1 in 58 boys is diagnosed with autism
 Boys 4 times more likely to have ASD
 In order of most to least
 PDD – NOS and Autism
 About 10 in 10000
 Asperger’s Syndrome
 About 2.5 in 10000
 Rett’s Syndrome & CDD
 Less than 1 in 10000

8. Autism on the RISE!
• Autism prevalence figures are growing
• More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than
with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined.
• Autism costs the nation over $35 billion per year, a
figure expected to significantly increase in the next
decade.
• Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of
many less prevalent childhood diseases.
 ASD - fastest growing disability category in the IDEA
 Greater awareness of Autism
 Improved methods of identification
 Increased awareness that autism can exist at different IQ
levels

9. Theoretical Causes
Genetic Disorders Vaccines
Exposure to Food Sensitivities
Environmental factors: o Yeast
o Toxic Chemicals o Gluten
o Heavy Metals o Casein

10. Is there a cure?
 Controversy with Jenny McCarthy
 Jenny McCarthy Story

11. Living with ASD

12. Teaching Strategies
 ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATIONS
 Visual cues & Picture Schedule
 To modify behavior
 Aide with transitions
 Assist with learning strategies
 Teacher Aide
 To support desired behavior
 DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONS
 Assignments broken down into smaller tasks
 ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY/ADAPTATIONS
 Communication
 Pictures
 Electronic devices
 Shortened writing utensils, weighted pens, grips
Highlighters
 Sensory Input: core disk, weighted vest, fidgets, oral devices
 STRATEGIES
 Prompts for transitions: verbal & visual cues, establish a social story
 Repetitive instruction, rephrasing questions, redirection to activities, modeling of task, reinforcement
 Look at antecedent behaviors to address behavior before it escalated to an undesirable behavior.
 Movement prior to tasks—helps attending
 Students need to know what is expected of him (beginning, middle, & end) and attach meaning to it

13. History of Social Stories
 Developed by Carol Gray for persons with autism in
early 1991
 Written for children and adults with autism spectrum
disorders by students at Jenison High School in
Jenison, MI.
 Autism Social Story Guidelines
 Write a social story from the perspective of the person
with autism. Create a word picture – what they would see
and experience
 Use a combination of different types of
sentences, following the recommended ratio:
Descriptive, Perspective, Directive
 May be supplemented with additional, optional types of
sentences: Affirmative, Control, Cooperative

14. Social Story

15. The Sky is the Limit!

16. Questions?

17. Resources
 http://www.aspergers.com/
 www.Autismspeaks.org
 http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/SD-Autism.asp
 http://www.specialed.us/autism/asper/asper11.html
 http://www.rettsyndrome.org
 http://www.barberinstitute.org/autismINsight/disorder_pe
rvasive.php
 http://www.barberinstitute.org/autismINsight/disorder_pe
rvasive.php
 www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/how-to-write-a-
social-story.html